As you can tell this is a post that is near and dear to my heart. I don't want to be a ref basher because there are some refs that are good and can be professional. My biggest complaint is that they do not over all know the game of soccer. Unlike other sports there is in the by laws the "Spirit of the Game" that means purely judgement calls. That is not the proplem. The problems arises when the refs have not played the game at the level they are refing. If it were cut and dry rules like Holding in Football or off-sides in footbal then the problem would not be so obvious. There are going to be different views on rules that is part of the human factor in sports. It sure would be nice if there was some sort of recourse coaches could take. It seems to me that there is this idea of us and them ( coaches and Ref's) and that we are at war against each other. If both sets are going to be professional in their jobs and truely support the game of soccer there has to be some accountability for them. I had two kids punished this weekend ( carded) because the guy was mad at me. They have way to much impact on the game and unfortunately it is mostly negative. If they are held accountable then I honestly think there could be a positive change. One final thought and I will get off the soap box and shut-up. Officials seem to have this brotherhood where they will not call each other out. If you don't want to be classified as poor let someone know when you are working with a ref that is incompetent. If he/she can't get the job done let the assigner know. This includes just being clueless to the all to often problem of not being fit enough to keep up with the speed of the game. Thanks and sorry for being so long.
